5.
Tennessee Titans (No. 9; 2-1): It became easier for the Titans to
rebound from the butt-kicking they took against the Steelers once the
Titans realized that most teams will take a butt-kicking from the
Steelers this year.

6. Atlanta Falcons (No. 17; 2-1): The biggest win of Matt Ryan’s career came at a perfect time.

7.
New Orleans Saints (No. 1 last week; 2-1): By the end of the day
Tuesday, Scott Fujita’s “fat punk kicker” label for Garrett Hartley may
be only 66.6 percent accurate.

12.
Cincinnati Bengals (No. 11; 2-1): Even when combining the yardage
generated by Batman and Robin, they lead Indy’s Austin Collie by only 30
yards.

13.
Miami Dolphins (No. 7; 2-1): That loss to the Jets will be quickly forgotten if the Fins can beat the Pats on Monday night.

14.
Houston Texans (No. 4; 2-1): Another three-team round-robin proves how
crazy the NFL can be; Redskins beat the Cowboys, the Texans beat the
Redskins, and then Cowboys beat the Texans.

15.
Philadelphia Eagles (No. 18; 2-1): The last time the Eagles played
in Jacksonville, their quarterback puked. This time, he induced nausea
in opposing defenders.

16. Minnesota Vikings
(No. 19; 1-2): The Vikings offense finally looks like it was supposed to look in 2009 — lots of running and selective passing.

17.
Seattle Seahawks (No. 24; 2-1): The ‘Hawks are looking like a team that can’t lose at home, can’t win on the road.

18.
San Diego Chargers (No. 13; 1-2): One of these years, the Chargers are
going to try to turn it on after a slow start and fail.

19. Dallas Cowboys (No. 22; 1-2): Desperation quickly will return if they lose to the Titans and Vikings.

20.
New
York Giants (No. 14; 1-2): The only way this team could get more dysfunctional would be if Tiki Barber unretires.

21. St. Louis Rams (No. 30; 1-2): In a watered-down NFC West, the Rams could be in the mix for a division title.

22.
Washington Redskins (No. 15; 1-2): No man has ever gotten more out of
two Super Bowl wins from a team built by someone else and held together
by salary cap violations.

23.
Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 20; 1-2): David Garrard would be benched right now, if they had someone to bench him for.

24. Denver Broncos (No. 21; 1-2): With a 3-10 record since
starting last year 6-0, at what point does Josh McDaniels land on the
hot seat?

25. Arizona Cardinals (No. 25; 2-1): This team
easily could be 0-3 — and would be if they’d played someone other than
the Raiders and the Rams in the early going.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 23; 2-1): Well, at least they can’t be any worse that 2-14. 27.
Oakland Raiders (No. 27; 1-2): We’d hate to see how much money the
Raiders would have paid Sebastian Janikowski if he could actually, you
know, kick.

28.
San Francisco 49ers (No. 28; 0-3): The new Bay of Pigs rivalry renews on October 17.

29. Detroit Lions (No. 29; 0-3): Surely, this nightmare has to end at some point. Doesn’t it?
30.
Carolina Panthers (No. 26; 0-3): At least they’ve broken that good year/bad year/good year cycle.

31.
Cleveland Browns (No. 31; 0-3): They showed life against the Ravens,
but the result is becoming too familiar for the Browns.

32.
Buffalo Bills (No. 32; 0-3): Maybe the decision to start playing games
in Canada was the first part of the process to apply for membership in
the CFL.

24. Denver Broncos (No. 21; 1-2): With a 3-10 record since starting last year 6-0, at what point does Josh McDaniels land on the hot seat?
It’s a good thing the world of journalism doesn’t have the same standards Florio.

And here comes an onslaught of Bengals fans complaining about being number 12 and the Ravens number 4… If the Bengals could actually take advantage and use the talent they have on offense, they’d move up but for now, their offense is just ugly, while the Raven’s is rolling

I agree with the rankings but not the analysis. What’s behind the joke about Roethlisberger rolling a blunt? I think you’re referring to Santonio Holmes maybe…Ben just gets accused of rape, that’s his only vice 🙂

Mike, I agree that the Steelers have to be at the top of the heap right now. On top of the dominant defensive play, the offense came alive last week. Nobody has played better than them for the first 3 weeks overall.
But, while I understand you usually make an attempt (ahem) at humor by making a comment that tries to relate to something that happened, I don’t understand your reference to Ben and a blunt. While you might have made a joking reference to a variety of things about Ben, a blunt makes absolutely no sense. Did you mistake him for Santonio Holmes? Or were you smoking one when you wrote this story?
Very much looking forward to this weekend’s game against the Ravens, and then to Ben’s return on 10/17/10!
GO STEELERS!!

The wheels fall off the Stillers when Fat Boy returns…………..
This team plays with more energy without the Twinkie eating clown than when he’s there.
Troy P – Out Indefinitely with a leg injury after Week 7……………..

broncos deserve to be somewhere in the teens i think. they aren’t a contender, but i’m not sure that i would want my team playing theirs down the stretch, especially in denver. the offense is really cranking out yards, if only they could convert a few in the redzone they would be the best offense in the game right now, or at worst top 3.

The Good News in Cleveland is that the Browns are much better this year than last year.
The Bad News is that brings them to #31 instead of #32…
Though I think most of the die hard fans know 0-3 is good news to help them get rid of MangIdiot and get a real coach and coordinators in there.

“22. Washington Redskins (No. 15; 1-2): No man has ever gotten more out of two Super Bowl wins from a team built by someone else and held together by salary cap violations.”
You know Florio, you can use that excuse for pretty much any winning coach. Gibbs did it in an uncapped era, Bill Walsh Had Joe Montana and Steve Young and a slew of other great players, Bill Belicheck Had tom Brady, Dick Vermiel had Kurt Warner, Jimmy Johnsons had Aikman, Gruden had Tony dungy’s team in tampa, Tony couldnt win the big one till Peyton Manning, of course Shannahan had Elway. The list goes on..
You could also reverse that and say how coaches never won the big game with guys like Jim Kelly and Dan marino. Gibbs is the only coach I can name off the top of my head to win 3 superbowls with 3 different quarterbacks, does that make him the best HC of all time? I’m sure many would disagree but according to your logic he should be. Bill Walsh considered one of the greatest if not the greatest Head Coach of all time had a guy who was also considered one of the greatest if not the greatest in Joe Montana. Elway didnt win the big game till Shannahan came along, remember that. Steve Young and the 49ers team that won a superbowl at the time they were the highest scoring team in NFL history and still considerd by many the best offense ever guess who the Offensive Coordinator was that year? Ya, Mike Shannahan.

Steelers on top and rightfully so.
They’re 3-0 using 3rd & 4th string QB’s.
Ratbirds are going to have their hands full next week.
The Steelers opponents so far have a combined record of 6-0 playing other teams, but 0-3 when they played the Steelers. And one of them, the Falcons, just knocked off the defending SB champs.
Baltimore OTOH is 2-1 against teams whose records add up to 4-5.
/ wait till BR returns, it’ll be lights out.

The Bills would be the worst team in the CFL and possibly also in the UFL! In fact, there are probably some high school teams who could beat the Bills! It is not just that they have lost three games, but the teams that beat them are among the worst in the league. First they lose at home by five to Miami. Next, they get beat on the road by Green Bay. Their third game was another road game and they get beat by eight by the lowly Patriots. If the Bills can’t beat these three cream-puffs, they will get destroyed this week against the mighty Jets.

No man has ever gotten more out of two Super Bowl wins from a team built by someone else and held together by salary cap violations.
——————————————————-
Not to mention an all-world QB….and I thought I was the only one who thought he received waaay too much praise. Didn’t see too much of that “genius” after Elway retired. Good coach, not “hall of fame god” that some make him out to be.

Cincyboy says:
September 28, 2010 9:16 AM
Sorry Cincinnati faithful….I am a Bengals fan and I fail to see how we are ranked any higher than #20. Seriously, we’re lucky to not be 0-3.
_
There was a time in the panther game you actually thought we were going to lose? When?Even with the turnovers (we got the ball right back) we had that game in control. Never lost the lead. Panters never showed any offensive power. And we dominated the Ravens O. We are where we should be. You sure you a Bengals fan?

I don’t get the joke about Little Ben rolling the blunt. Florio hates the Bengals. He’s a little weasel of a man who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Baltimore should be in the 10-15 range, and the Titans in that range as well. I’m not saying Cincy should be in the top 10, because I’d be more comfortable with Jordan Palmer in the game as opposed to Carson but come on. Who Dey!

22. Washington Redskins (No. 15; 1-2): No man has ever gotten more out of two Super Bowl wins from a team built by someone else and held together by salary cap violations.
Is this a reference to Shananahan?

Ska4Life says:
September 28, 2010 9:11 AM
Packers are way too far down this list…they have been as impressive as anyone to start this season despite their performance last night.
____________________
Seriously? When were they impressive? When they squeaked by the Eagles with a combo if a terrible Kolb and Vick with 4 years of rust in his first action? Or when they beat the Bills who cut their starting QB a week later? They haven’t been impressive at all, come on homer.

thehoodedone: Last season was last season and doesn’t count anymore. Look at the teams winning so far–more than half didn’t make the playoffs last year.
And with your reasoning, Cincy should be ranked higher than Baltimore since they beat them. Baltimore should also be ranked lower since they almost lost to the Browns.
Then again, everyone knows that rankings don’t mean anything (especially when they’re on PFT)

Hey thanks for keeping your word Florio, but no need to jump on the BEARS bandwagon now… especially since every post made about that games spells out the Pack SHOULD have won.
Well, the Bears were the more disciplined and clutch team, and their one turnover (1st half ending pick doesn’t count) could not have been more timely. The Packers look awesome though, and both teams should be above the Falcons who had an ugly loss this season. And therefore should be above the Saints as well

# thehoodedone says: September 28, 2010 9:30 AM
“Let’s see, the Steelers haven’t played a division game yet. In a division where they lost 4 of 6 last year. Seems a little early for undefeated talk. No?”
/ key phrase = “last year”

Any time a team loses its best player, the other players get better. It may not be enough, but in this case it has been. Unfortunate for the rest of the league, but the steel is being hardened by heat and pressure.

The last time Charlie Batch played the Ravens we busted him up real bad. We’ll do it again since Mendenhall will be stuffed and Batch will have his head ripped off. And by the way…playing Tampa is like playing a high school team. Mike Wallace will actually have to get open in this game. He’ll be lucky to make 10 yards.

Nobody in Pittsburgh is talking about going undefeated. That’s all media hype. In fact, I think most of us would prefer a lower profile.
Still some questions to be answered… especially in a tough division. 3-0 at this point… that’s icing on the cake.

Jets at Number 2 was really funny. Falcons should be #3 or 4 and the Saints should be ahead of the Titans.
Oh, and Philly should be in the Top 10 (Philly at Top 15 shows either bias or ignorance.) Oh, and the Chiefs should be ahead of the Bears (but they should go in succession.) Oh, and the Rams are over the Bucs??? Really?
As a matter of fact, the Rams over the Cardinals??? Didn’t Arizona beat the Rams?
Oh, and… never mind. This entire Power Ranking list is messed up.

The Bengals have O line problems. Till they prove they can protect Carson its going to be mid range performances, and mid range power rankings. Heres hoping the Cleveland Self Esteem Team helps us get rolling.
WHO DIZZLE

AttackRaven says: September 28, 2010 9:47 AM
“The last time Charlie Batch played the Ravens we busted him up real bad. We’ll do it again since Mendenhall will be stuffed and Batch will have his head ripped off. ”
you may as well get your shots in now, because we already know you and the other idiot Ravenmaniac will disappear on Monday.

The Chargers have the number one offense, and the number four defense. That just goes to show how little rankings matter at this point.
The Chargers are 1-2. If they can ever get their special teams units straightened out, they will be right back in the playoff hunt.

@thhoodedone:
I am not a Steelers fan.
But dude, have you seen the Steelers D in action this year? If not, you must do so because history is being made.
I used to root for the Bears back in ’85 after watching their 44-0 spanking of America’s team down at Texas Stadium.
I used to watch the original curtain – mean Joe Greene and company back in the 70s (BTW Bradshaw was the greatest QB of all time – please watch some highlights some time of the 70s Steeler’s dynasty if you weren’t watching back then).
Those were the two best defensive units that ever played the game.
Until now.
I believe this year’s Steelers D may very well be the best I have ever seen.

AttackRaven: “have his head ripped off.” I expect nothing less from a Ravens fan. Tough talk before the game and then complaints about the officials after the game.
I hope you stuff Menhenhall–that means we’ll have to open up the passing game and everyone knows your secondary sucks. Mikey W will have a really nice game then. Maybe he’ll even make a “questionable” catch in the end zone that will go our way because the NFL and officials love us more than you guys.
And by the way…playing Cleveland is like playing a high school team. And you barely beat them.

The Titans are about 5 spots too high… They have a QB who routinely throws for around 100 yards per game and got benched once already this season… I mean, they only beat the Raiders and the Giants and lost to the Steelers… Show me a quality win?

@ AttackRaven
Too bad you’re overrated offense that fails to put any real points on the board will also get busted up “real bad”. And for the record your defense gave up 116 rushing yards vs. the Jets, 94 yard vs. Cincy and 173 vs. Cleveland. None of those were “garbage time” yards either, considering your team has barely won each game. If those stats are an accurate indicator of your run defense, I wouldn’t just assume Mendenhall will “be stuffed”.

@AttackRaven says:
And by the way…playing Tampa is like playing a high school team.
* * * * *
So with your logic, how would you describe what it was like playing the Browns that you barely beat last week? Like playing a pre-school team? LOL. Don’t throw stones little boy. You talk pretty big. Good luck this week coming into our house and playing against the baddest defense in the NFL. I love the division games.
GO STEELERS!!

The Saints should not be ranked so high. Maybe we should have put down the boos and hit the practice field sooner. We know that we are going to get everyone’s best shot, but we can’t be losing games like to a division rival.
We played like crap and ATL took advantage of our every mistake. They pounded us! I still believe that if we can clean up those silly mistakes that we win that game in regulation.
Let’s get it together Saints!
Who Dat!

Hey Mike just a little legal info for you. What you wrote about Ben, and him rolling a Blunt.
That my friend is the very definition of ” Libel ”
And if I were Mr.Roethlisberger’s Attorney, I would be suing you and this site for all you had.
I would remove that statement before it does get back to Ben and his Reps. You as a professional writer..( So-called )…cannot Insinuate such a thing towards a NFL player who has never had a failed drug test. Or any other legal Issues.
Just sayin.

“# chc36 says: September 28, 2010 9:00 AM
And here comes an onslaught of Bengals fans complaining about being number 12 and the Ravens number 4… If the Bengals could actually take advantage and use the talent they have on offense, they’d move up but for now, their offense is just ugly, while the Raven’s is rolling”
I won’t complain. The offense is not clicking. We wont really know until Oct 24th in Atlanta if we are any good or not. I won’t be delusional enough to think that going into the bye 4-1 means anything.

Cincyboy says:
September 28, 2010 9:16 AM
Yup I’m a Bengals fan. And I’m realistic too! We barely beat the Ravens. A couple of bad calls…..
_
Now I know you aren’t a Bengal fan. Nice try tho. We dominated the Ravens. How did your little Flacco look? Confused? Unstable? What you and your Ravens fail to realize is that even after the roughing the passer call, your O had 3 drives to try to score and make up the field goal. They didn’t. They threw 2 more pics out of the 3. And we clinched with the extra field goal after the final turnover (not the roughing call as you would like to think).

Do you draw names out of a hat when you make these rankings? Im not usually one to bash the profesional but these are really messed up. First as a buffalonian the bills are the second best 0-3 team behind the lions and thats a close one, they are 2 scores from POSSIBLY being 2-1. And you say playoffs for the chiefs yet if these were the end of year rankings they would be on the cusp of a wild card berth? And tampa behind cardinals and the 1-2 rams? Really? No really please tell me yous logic! I really really really think That everyone one here gets there information by how there team or teams are rated in madden i swear! Also stats do not depict who the better team is so watch the games and if you didnt or cant then dont comment.

Well Florio, you said if the Bears won, you’d put them in the top 10, and you kept your word.
Finally, you’re getting a real taste of manhood
(a bit different than your usual way of “tasting manhood”, eh?)
Now, speaking of “manning up”–if you’ll only drop the “Packers should have won” crap in your other posts, and give the Bears their due credit for:
blocking a FG,
FORCING a fumble,
returning a punt for a TD,
playing a more disciplined game in the trenches, (Peppers) forcing multiple false starts and holds, Cutler moving the ball when he had to,
Olsen and Knox getting open when they had to, managing the clock more effectively, and just generally being a much beter team than you or anyone else thought, you’ll take another big step towards being a man.
Admitting you were wrong is never easy, Mike. But it’s good to see you finally taking some steps in the right direction.

LOVE to see how delusional fans are.
We’ve got Ravens fans saying Cincy’s offense is horrible and that Ravens offense is ROLLING now? Just because they scored a couple touchdowns against the Browns? 24 points is HARDLY rolling. Especially when it was your home opener.
We got Bengals fans saying they “dominated” the Ravens. Really? You scored 15 points. You didn’t get into the endzone at all. 5 field goals. Flacco GAVE you 4 interceptions. Those weren’t amazing plays by the defense. They were horrible throws from an overrated QB. And Cincy had the home field advantage.
And we have fans saying Mark Sanchez is questionable, with his 6 TDs and 0 INTs? If that’s questionable, then the Colts defense must also be labeled questionable. So I don’t see why Colts have to be ranked higher than Jets. And I could make same case for Steelers offense. They are NOT good. They played Tampa Bay and Tennessee. I think you have to say Jets are the most balanced team. And that’s even before they get Santonio Holmes back.

Just makes it all better when Flacco goes into Pittsburgh and finally wins to start moving this train towards Dallas. It’s time for the kid to step up and the Ravens D ain’t losing to charlie batch after their performance last week.
Randell el better be ready to step in..

Steelers should be favored vs Ravens. They usually beat us in Pitt. But this week is different with BR out. Ravens D also got a wake up call vs Browns…they will be much improved this week. Ravens earn win 13-10.
GO RAVENS!!

32. Buffalo Bills (No. 32; 0-3): Maybe the decision to start playing games in Canada was the first part of the process to apply for membership in the CFL.
_______________________________
And maybe your decision to tell the whole world that Terry Bradshaw was dead qualifies you for a permanent residency of Canada!!!

@chc36
What do you expect? Try and chide with a stupid comment, but the Bengals D made Flacco look so horrible that the media speculated his benching all week.
Cry all you want, but the Bengals D owned you. If this weekend comes and you guys lose to the Steelers and the Bengals beat the Browns – and are never trailing them – yeah, they better be ranked higher than the Ravens.
The only reason they’re ranked as high as they are now is because Florio foolishly picked you guys to go to the SB. Nobody wants to look like a stupid hypocrite on their own site.

A couple of things, first to say a win is a win except when you play buffalo than its a bye, did you watch football this week the patriots had to put up 38 to only win by 8 points that doesn’t seem like much of a bye week.
Second ravens at 4? you are all about the ravens who beat the 31st ranked cleveland team by 7? lets do math a 4 seed vs a 31 seed …. outcome should have been a little higher you need to hop off the ravens its getting rediculous what happened to all of those articles when you commented about chris johnson and adrian peterson when they both claimed they were the best running backs in the league and you constantly added stupid comments about watch out for ray rice ray rice is this and that top 3? try top 13, I wish I got paid to be dumb too.
Steelers Rule!

Cincyboy says:
September 28, 2010 10:48 AM
@ Kaz
And you are probably a Colerain fan too….Take off the blinders and see the Bengals for what they are. Until this offense gets rolling….we’re doomed to mediocrity.
___
Maybe, but we still do enough to beat your beloved Ravens…

steelersmichele says:
September 28, 2010 10:15 AM
AttackRaven: “have his head ripped off.” I expect nothing less from a Ravens fan. Tough talk before the game and then complaints about the officials after the game.
I hope you stuff Menhenhall–that means we’ll have to open up the passing game and everyone knows your secondary sucks. Mikey W will have a really nice game then. Maybe he’ll even make a “questionable” catch in the end zone that will go our way because the NFL and officials love us more than you guys.
And by the way…playing Cleveland is like playing a high school team. And you barely beat them.
—————————————
Didn’t Cleveland cream Pittsburgh last year?

The list isn’t that bad – arguments here or there in minor places, but nothing ridiculous. Eagles should be higher – and I can’t stand the Eagles. Anyway, the only ridiculous thing I saw in here was dukelonghorn saying he’s “not a Steeler fan” followed by “Bradshaw was the greatest QB of all time.”
I like Bradshaw, but only a Steeler fan gives that up for Bradshaw. Top twenty, easy – Top ten? Tough to see it, but an argument might be made for 9 or 10, I guess. He doesn’t sniff top eight, though.
Unless you bleed black and gold, anyway – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

# jamaltimore says: September 28, 2010 10:46 AM
“Just makes it all better when Flacco goes into Pittsburgh and finally wins to start moving this train towards Dallas.”
Pretty bold prediction considering it took the Ratbirds until OT last year to beat Dixon.

@ Edgarpoe
Real fans dont talk about last year.
The Ravens are they hyped-up team that signed a couple playmaking wide receivers. The Steelers sent arguably their best receiver to the Jets for some magic beans in the offseason.
The Ravens were most everyones favorites to win the division if not the AFC, not the Steelers.
Kravon

Whew – no NFC East team higher than #15. And every team in the division is a flawed mess. I would say the worm may finally be turning, but there’s still too much talent on those teams for them to turn into the NFC West anytime soon.
Perhaps there’ll be a few new coaches in the division next year to start sorting out the mess. (I’m looking at you, Cowboys, and I say this as a long-pained Dallas fan.)

This is perhaps the most important game in Joey Flaccos career.
If he can’t lead that offense with the upgrades they made a wide receiver to a win over a Charles Batch led Steelers offense, than he will never win in Pittsburgh.
No excuses.
Kravon
PFT Junkie

Wow, totally retarded rankings this week. Very REACTIONARY! The Titans have beaten the Raiders, who suck, and the Giants, who suck. The Titans are a very good team, but top five? Um, no.
Also, you have the Saints falling 7 spots because of one lousy “punk” kicker? Ahem.
Jets at #2 and Ravens at #4??? The Ravens barely got by Cleveland. CLEVELAND!!! The Jets are going to have to show more consistency to justify a #2 spot. We simply don’t know how consistent Sanchez is going to be yet.
I’m more in line with the experts at nfl.com – much less reactionary and more reality-based.

Colts yeah perhaps. But last year the Jets held Brees to under 150 pass yards. We lost a close game because Sanchez threw like 4 picks. Not to mention the Saints should have lost to the 0-3 Niners. It’s all relative but I wouldnt expect a Fish fan to know any better. I dont believe the Jets should be 2, but to say the Saints would beat them 10 out of 10 times is plain ignorant. The Saints are still a very good team but theyre not winning the Super Bowl, get over it.
BTW, Florio’s rankings mean as much as a Pittsburgh Pirates game.

The Eagles probably shouldn’t be as high as they are. They’re performing the best of any NFC East team at the moment – but only because of their opponents.
It’s easy to be high-flying, Michael Vick, when your two wins come against two of the worst teams in the league (combined 1-5). But your only loss was to a team that just lost an important division game to the Bears.
If only all the sports ‘journalists’ racing madly to be the first to ‘report’ on the return of Vick had a little perspective. He’s made good plays against some of the worst defenses in the entire league. He couldn’t have written a better script. It will not continue this way once they start playing some real teams.

Power Rankings should probably be deferred until mid-season, when clear trends can be identified. At this early juncture, these have more entertainment value than anything else—e.g., ranking the Jets above the Colts.
My hunch is that in a head-to-head contest with the Steelers, the Colts would likely win, regardless of the game venue.

@Elvoid:
Re: Bradshaw – “He doesn’t sniff top eight”…
Dude, you must simply be ‘football ignorant’.
And no, I am not a Steelers ‘fan’. Never have been.
But you are in serious need of some education in the area of football history.
And evidently you were in the “if you weren’t watching back then” category I mentioned.
Perhaps youngsters like you just need to dig up some tapes… not sure – maybe search nfl.com, or just do some googling…?
You really had to watch Bradshaw in action to understand the magnitude of his ability to win and unmatched toughness.
FYI:
He played in 4 super bowls.
He possesses 4 super bowl rings.
He won MVP in 2 super bowls.
Fan or not, anyone who watched the Steelers in the 70s understands, and had respect for them, and for Bradshaw who has MAYBE two or three peers (Montana, Favre…?) who stand along side him in the history books at the pinnacle of QB greats.

A couple losses to tough teams and you are off the Vikes bandwagon? I still almost think that by default the Vikes should be considered atop the NFC North. I saw nothing in last night’s game to make me think either of those teams can take the division assuming the Vikings passing game comes around here.

The Chiefs match up well with a lot of the top 5 teams (with the exception of the Pittsburgh defense)..
They will continue to surprise people this year.. Oh and the Ravens’ ship has sailed.. they’re overrated.. and their defense isn’t as great as it’s trumped up to be. If you pound the rock against them, they falter.
Flacco’s overrated.

kravon says:
September 28, 2010 12:01 PM
This is perhaps the most important game in Joey Flaccos career.
If he can’t lead that offense with the upgrades they made a wide receiver to a win over a Charles Batch led Steelers offense, than he will never win in Pittsburgh.
No excuses.
Kravon
PFT Junkie
——————————————–
hmmm, didn’t know the 4th game into a season is more important than the AFC championship game or the divisional round playoffs game Flacco played in. Great logic, moron. This says a lot about Ravens Haters’ intelligence if you are the leader of that nation.

I’m a Jets fan and i’m not so sure about #2. top 5, yeah, probably. #2, idk if they’ve proven that juust yet. they’ve won two hard fought division games, one on the road, and have proven to be solid… they are pretty scary too. sanchez isn’t throwing the picks like he was last year, at least not yet, he’s connecting with Keller in a big way (who will create mismatches against every single team he plays… can’t double him too much cause after this week, braylon or santonio will burn you on the outside) braylon is even making plays, and its even scarier that Tomlinson seems to be rejuvenated with his new home. I don’t think anyone is criticizing letting TJ go to pick this guy up – Jones does not pick up 15 yards making people miss like Tomlinson does. Greene even had a few solid power runs against the dolphins hard hitting D. The defense gets takeaways and has been playing incredibly well considering Pace hasn’t even played yet, and Revis has been out for the past game and a half. All I know is that the Jets will be in the conversation this year. Its a scary thing when a team trusts their head coach like they do, buy into everything he says and believe in it like they do, when he’s telling them they have the ability to win that super bowl this year. its hard to break down men who believe in themselves. they’ll never go into a game feeling any sort of discouragement. they come to play, and having that bullseye on their backs only forces them to bring the A game each week.

dukelonghorn: Well, I’ll give you that it is highly subjective, of course – and terribly difficult to compare QB’s from differing eras.
I saw Bradshaw in action. I like Bradshaw – he was indeed a great QB. If you want to believe him the greatest, go for it. However, I hope you’re not just hanging it on his Super Bowl record – because while championships are certainly a component, they are not the end all be all. After all, a football championship is a team effort, not an individual accomplishment.
I’ve never seen a ranking that valued him higher than 8 (which is pretty damn good and I don’t disagree with that spot), and I’ve never seen a serious football historian (people that know much more than you or I about the game) put him in the top five. I consider myself more than a little familiar with football history – a student of the history of the game, so to speak – and I can go with 8 without too much disagreement.
You mention Montana and Favre: I’d say Montana ranks higher than Bradshaw easily. Favre? They’re in about the same boat, in my opinion.
Unitas? Need I even say? Really?
Graham? He’s in any reputable top 5. Even Young, Marino, and Elway are usually considered above Bradshaw.
Why is that? Is he just constantly underrated, or is it that when honestly looking at the “big picture,” the truth is there are just a few guys ahead of him?

@ NYJRavens2.0
Petty name calling tells me alot about someones character.
I’m sorry you dont agree with me. But so far at the moments when the light shines brightest, Joey Flacco has failed to deliver a winning performance.
Kravon

@Elvoid:
You are right, it is obviously highly subjective
(a *completely* subjective argument, really ).
I agree with you that Montana probably shouldn’t be ‘ranked’ lower than anyone. I believe he and Bradshaw stand at the top. And probably Unitas alongside them.
But Elway, Marino, Young – I just can’t bring myself to put them quite to the level of Bradshaw after watching Bradshaw’s performances in all those super bowls.
I can’t help but smile when I think of him bouncing up and getting in the face of those defensive linemen every time he got laid out, and following up with a 40 yard bullet.
And lets face it, it is awfully hard to discount all those SB rings when you’re debating whose among ‘the greatest’…

kravon says:
September 28, 2010 1:57 PM
@ NYJRavens2.0
Petty name calling tells me alot about someones character.
I’m sorry you dont agree with me. But so far at the moments when the light shines brightest, Joey Flacco has failed to deliver a winning performance.
Kravon
———————————————-
Maybe this is what you should have said initially. And, I could careless what you think of my character. I’m not trying to make you feel great about yourself, that’s your right hand’s job.

You put Marino on those Steelers teams and they probably win more than 4. Best passer ever.
And to answer the punchdrunk Jets fans on this board…Why would this year be any different than the last 50 or so when you’ve disappointed your fanbase?

not saying the raiders deserve any consideration until they start scoring in the red-zone and win games that there supposed to but as far as power-rankings go how is a team with the #10 overall offense right now and tied for 2nd in overall defense ranked 27?..There’s no way jax or stl should be ranked ahead of them. They were a 32 yard kick away from being 2-1 which shouldn’t affect power rankings. But why even take florio serious when he has his head so far up the steelers a**.

Maybe the fact that shanny complemented Elway with the zone block run offense and a very dominant runner in TD had something to do with the Broncos winning back to back superbowls. How many other active coaches have won back to back titles?
Lets not forget they lost Elway, TD, and several other players the very next year after they won the superbowl (with no compensation for the loss of those players due to injury or retirement). So, yes… I do believe he earned those superbowls.

Im a big Steelers fan and im find it funny putting Bradshaw top 2 . For one point he play with 3 hall of fame weapons . Stallworth , Swann and Harris . He had a HOFer center in Webster . Not to mention the countless HOFers on defense . So the Blonde Bomber was a big game QB he also had talent to make him look GREAT when he was only better than average over a career .

15. Philadelphia Eagles (No. 18; 2-1): The last time the Eagles played in Jacksonville, their quarterback puked. This time, he induced nausea in opposing defenders
Mcnabb puked during the 2009 preseason in Jacksonville ?

22. Washington Redskins (No. 15; 1-2): No man has ever gotten more out of two Super Bowl wins from a team built by someone else and held together by salary cap violations.
I hate the Redskins but honestly this opinion has nothing to do with that. I just dont get where all the Shanahan hype came from. His teams were horrible after the Superbowls and everyone was saying the game pasted him by. I dont even know if that is true I dunno if he ever had the game. He won 2 superbowls but I think that was more Elway and Davis then anything. Injuries were low those years and they got some luck. I just dont see Shannahan as a savior for any team. Hes just another Joe Gibbs.

I think you have Cleveland too low and S.F. too high.
When you look at the game seach has played, the Browns have been competitive in each. The Bucs and Chiefs have proven to be better than expected. The Ravens were not having an easy time with them either.
S.F. on the other hand has looked extremely poor in two of their matches and struggled to look decent in their one against the Saints.
I think the Reputation of the Browns and the Hype of San Fran have skewed your rankings.

32. Buffalo Bills (No. 32; 0-3): Maybe the decision to start playing games in Canada was the first part of the process to apply for membership in the CFL.
Get in line behind Ottawa and Moncton (where they drew a sellout crowd for a game last weekend).

kravon says:
September 28, 2010 12:01 PM
This is perhaps the most important game in Joey Flaccos career.
If he can’t lead that offense with the upgrades they made a wide receiver to a win over a Charles Batch led Steelers offense, than he will never win in Pittsburgh.
No excuses.
Kravon
PFT Junkie
——————————————
You must be the dumbest, most retared poster ever. You play at home. Projections have to be that the Ravens and Steelers split. It is not Flacco against Batch, it is Flacco against the arguably best D in the league. Batch and the Steelers O will an absolute non factor.
It is game 4, Flacco is in his third year and has won 3 play off games. He has done just fine for a new QB. Only Rothlisburger has achieved more in his early years.
You are an ignorant poster demonstrating ZERO football knowledge with every post you make.

I do not like the Steelers or their fans….
But who else would you guys have at #1???
They’ve beat some good teams with marginal QBS…..(and they will with another marginal QB BIG BEN)
I think this team is for real with or without ben.
Defense is scary good…and VERY WELL COACHED….

The Bills are not the worst team in the league. Had Fitz been starting QB from week 1 the Bills would be 1-2 right now – probably 2-1. The dolphins (who you rank as 13) could do nothing; the Packers (9) could do nothing until the momentum shift in the 3rd quarter (being the truest loss of the season, mind you); and the Patriots (ranked 10) barely won – and would not have won if Fitz had more reps and had been starting since week 1.
I understand why you have to rank the 0-3 teams at the end of the list. I understand why you might choose the Bills as the worst – since you probably don’t watch their games – but I don’t understand your foolishly ignorant comments.

somesome says:
September 29, 2010 10:54 AM
kravon says:
September 28, 2010 12:01 PM
This is perhaps the most important game in Joey Flaccos career.
If he can’t lead that offense with the upgrades they made a wide receiver to a win over a Charles Batch led Steelers offense, than he will never win in Pittsburgh.
No excuses.
Kravon
PFT Junkie
—————– ——————– —–
You must be the dumbest, most retared poster ever. You play at home. Projections have to be that the Ravens and Steelers split. It is not Flacco against Batch, it is Flacco against the arguably best D in the league. Batch and the Steelers O will an absolute non factor.
It is game 4, Flacco is in his third year and has won 3 play off games. He has done just fine for a new QB. Only Rothlisburger has achieved more in his early years.
You are an ignorant poster demonstrating ZERO football knowledge with every post you make.
————————————————–
@ Somesome
1. Thanks so much for caring enough about my comments to comment on them.
2. In reference to “You play at home”. I do not play for the Steelers.
3. I will type this slowly so you can better understand. When you typed “Batch and the Steelers O will an absolute non factor”, immediately in your tiny head a little bell should have rung. That ringing bell would have been an indicator that you understood my point.
Apparently that didnt happen.
Here it is again for you. Both Ravens and Steelers defense is great; therefore no advantage to either side.
Charlie Batch vs Joey Flacco = clear advantage to Baltimore.
If the defenses play to their ability, most likely the game will not be a 30-30 shoot-out.
Therefore Flacco should have to make less plays on offense for Baltimore to score more points than Pittsburgh.
The team that scores more points than the other wins the game.
Happy to help,
Kravon

redscare says:
September 28, 2010 12:10 PM
The Eagles probably shouldn’t be as high as they are. They’re performing the best of any NFC East team at the moment – but only because of their opponents.
–Ridiculous. These are some truly poor rankings. The Jets at #2? The Bears at #8? The flippin CHIEFS at #11? And you say the Eagles are too high. You’re on crack, apparently.

TheWizard says:
September 30, 2010 10:28 PM
Does anyone really believe that the Chiefs are better than the Eagles, Texans, or Cowboys? Anyone…??
You are what your record says you are.
___________________________________
Well Mr Wizard then by your logic:
Bears,Steelers and Chiefs are all tied for #1 in the power rankings. They are all 3-0.